NuSarnia Foundation

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NuSarnia Foundation nuSarnia is a grassroots collective disrupting the status quo to build a better Sarnia.

We create welcoming streets, vibrant spaces & connected neighbourhoods that put people first—unlocking Sarnia’s potential for a more walkable, thriving, healthy city.

Sarnia, internet voting is officially open. 🗳️From today through October 26, eligible voters can cast their municipal el...
10/16/2026

Sarnia, internet voting is officially open. 🗳️

From today through October 26, eligible voters can cast their municipal election ballot online.

And if you're still deciding?

We've spent the past few weeks sharing what residents told us, what our Community Survey found and how participating municipal candidates responded to questions about housing, transportation, public spaces, community connection, the economy and more.

You can explore those responses at nusarnia.org/municipal-election

For official information about how to vote, voter eligibility and in-person voting, visit the City of Sarnia's election website.

You've got the information.The decision is yours.

“We need more affordable housing.”Okay. But what would you actually do?We asked every participating candidate:🏠 What is ...
10/14/2026

“We need more affordable housing.”

Okay. But what would you actually do?

We asked every participating candidate:
🏠 What is one specific action you would take during your term to increase the supply of affordable and attainable housing in Sarnia?

And we asked them to go one step further:What would you expect that action to accomplish by the end of your four-year term?

Swipe through to compare the actions candidates proposed. ➡

You can read every participating candidate's complete answer at nusarnia.org/municipal-election

Same city. Different generations. Different priorities?Our Community Survey found some interesting differences in what a...
10/13/2026

Same city. Different generations. Different priorities?

Our Community Survey found some interesting differences in what age groups identified as priorities for City Hall.

Among residents ages 18–34:
🏠 22% selected Housing & Affordability as a top-two priority.

Among residents 65+:
🏠 10% did.

Property Taxes & City Services showed the opposite pattern:
18–34 → 10%
65+ → 23%

These differences are worth exploring, but they should be interpreted cautiously. Our analysis suggests age may play a role in how priorities differ, but the broader relationship wasn't definitive.

And there's another important part of the story: Residents with stronger and weaker senses of belonging still identified many of the same overall priorities for City Hall.

We may experience Sarnia differently without necessarily disagreeing about everything it needs. Tomorrow, we're asking candidates to get specific about one of those issues: housing.

When street space is limited, how should we decide who gets it? 🚗🚲🚶🚌Our Community Survey found that 43% of residents sur...
10/12/2026

When street space is limited, how should we decide who gets it? 🚗🚲🚶🚌

Our Community Survey found that 43% of residents surveyed feel somewhat or very unsafe getting around their neighbourhood.

Sarnia's Active Transportation Master Plan identifies investments intended to make walking and cycling safer and more practical. But building a connected network can sometimes mean changing how existing road space is used.

So we asked candidates:

Will you support prioritizing completion of a connected citywide walking and cycling network, even when doing so requires reallocating some existing road space or changing how streets are currently used?

YES | NO | DEPENDS

Swipe to see how candidates answered.

Then read their complete responses to see how they think Council should balance space for cars, walking, cycling, transit and gathering: nusarnia.org/municipal-election/

There’s a lot to be thankful for around here. 💛This Thanksgiving, we’re thinking about the people and places that make S...
10/12/2026

There’s a lot to be thankful for around here. 💛

This Thanksgiving, we’re thinking about the people and places that make Sarnia feel like home.

The neighbours who stop to say hello. The friends who meet for a walk. The families who gather around a table. The volunteers who show up. The parks, trails, sidewalks and public spaces where we bump into one another and feel part of something bigger.

Because connection doesn’t always happen through big moments. Often, it’s built through the small, everyday ways we spend time together and show up for our community.

From all of us at nuSarnia, Happy Thanksgiving. 🍂

How safe do you feel getting around your own neighbourhood? 🚶🚲Our Community Survey found: ➡ 52% of residents surveyed fe...
10/11/2026

How safe do you feel getting around your own neighbourhood? 🚶🚲

Our Community Survey found:
➡ 52% of residents surveyed feel somewhat or very safe getting around their neighbourhood streets and sidewalks.
➡ 43% feel somewhat or very unsafe.
➡ And only around 1 in 5 describe themselves as feeling very safe.

Our analysis didn't establish a reliable relationship between safety and belonging. But the survey does tell us something straightforward: A substantial share of residents surveyed don't feel safe getting around their own neighbourhood.

So what should the next Council do about it?

Sarnians are using our public spaces. Could we make it easier for the community to help bring them to life? 🌳55% of resi...
10/10/2026

Sarnians are using our public spaces. Could we make it easier for the community to help bring them to life? 🌳

55% of residents surveyed say they use Sarnia's public spaces at least weekly.

Parks. Trails. Downtown. Neighbourhood streets. Gathering places.

We also saw an interesting pattern in the survey: residents who used public spaces more frequently tended to report more frequent face-to-face community interaction.

That pattern wasn't statistically confirmed, so we can't say using public spaces creates stronger social connection. But it does give us another reason to think about the role these places play in everyday community life.

So we asked candidates whether they would support making it easier for qualified community organizations to activate, program, improve or steward selected City-owned public spaces while maintaining public ownership and access.

And we asked:

What municipal barrier would you address first?

Swipe to compare their responses. ➡

Does City Hall have a role in helping people feel more connected to their community?Our Community Survey found that fewe...
10/08/2026

Does City Hall have a role in helping people feel more connected to their community?

Our Community Survey found that fewer than half of residents surveyed report a strong sense of belonging.And that sense of belonging was remarkably similar across age groups.

So we asked participating candidates:
Do you believe the City of Sarnia has a responsibility to create places, programs and policies that help residents feel a stronger sense of belonging and connection to their community?

YES | NO | LIMITED ROLE

And if yes, we asked them to identify one specific municipal action they would support.

Swipe to see where candidates stand. →

Then read their complete explanations at nusarnia.org/municipal-election

Young Sarnians don't necessarily feel less connected to their city. But they may be connecting with people in their comm...
10/07/2026

Young Sarnians don't necessarily feel less connected to their city. But they may be connecting with people in their community less often.

A strong sense of belonging was remarkably similar across generations in our Community Survey. Face-to-face community interaction told a different story.

Just 31% of residents ages 18–34 report frequently interacting face-to-face with people in their neighbourhood or community, compared with 47% of residents 65+.

That difference between the youngest and oldest age groups remained statistically meaningful in our analysis.

So maybe the question isn't simply: “How do we make young people feel more connected to Sarnia?”

Maybe it's also: Are we creating enough opportunities for everyday connection across generations?

Do residents feel like their input actually shapes decisions? 💬Our Community Survey found:44% agree people in their neig...
10/06/2026

Do residents feel like their input actually shapes decisions? 💬

Our Community Survey found:
44% agree people in their neighbourhood have opportunities to influence decisions affecting it.
41% disagree.
14% aren't sure.

And our analysis found that feeling able to influence neighbourhood decisions was strongly associated with residents' sense of belonging.

So we asked every participating candidate:
What specific change would you make to Sarnia's public engagement process so residents can meaningfully participate and feel their input genuinely shapes decisions that affect their own neighbourhood?

Swipe to compare what candidates told us. ➡

Read each participating candidate's complete response at nusarnia.org/municipal-election

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